A Decade and a Half in the Waiting

John Rozum’s “Xombi” was first launched in 1994 and quickly became a cult-hit of sorts. However, in spite of various appearances in other comics and a solid fan base, the series was ultimately canned.

It didn’t matter that the series protagonist, Dr. David Kim, was cool in the fact that he had a nanotech virus [which he also developed] that allowed him to regenerate his tissue and sometimes “devour” whole bodies.

The fact that the virus was injected into his body to save his life after a villain tried to steal it adds another layer to already rich plot.

Simply put, Kim isn’t completely sure what the virus is completely capable of. As the series developed, you learned more about him and his nearly Immortal powers. Kim, along with the crazy cast of characters around him, had true potential. The art, by Denys Cowan [known for his work with Denny O’Neil], reaffirmed this notion.

15 years later, Rozum and his series are back, with pencils this time by Frazer Irving. Colorful in presentation, with a story that is sure to continue to develop and deepen, “Xombi” is perhaps a better series now when it was originally released. Nonetheless, at times, the story may be hard to follow, as the origin section of the tale is rather short. However, a lot goes on in issue one. Getting right into the action, Rozum wastes little time and inserts Kim into his first real adventure.

And is it ever one. Nuns with super-powers are enough to grab your attention, but the witty dialogue and wide color palette add plenty of different elements to get you hooked.

Between the fast-paced story and uber colorful panels by Irving, the series feels different from the majority of comics on the DC imprint. Because of that, those who were fans of the original series will be able to jump right into this with both feet. Those looking for something different will like Kim’s straight-ahead personality and the stylized visuals [which at times will remind you of a cel-shaded video game].

It’s unsure if history will repeat itself and cancel this series before it has an opportunity to truly strut its stuff, but from the look and feel of issue one, Rozum is ready for a fight.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13821 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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